


Been Thinking You Should Probably Stay

by BoysWillBePups



Series: I Will Stay, If You Dare [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Homelessness, I DONT MAKE THE RULES, Jenna is a good mum, M/M, The Sheriff's name is Noah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27679133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoysWillBePups/pseuds/BoysWillBePups
Summary: Jenna is the coolest mom out there as far as Liam's concerned. She's caring, easygoing, and funny... but she can also be super duper scary when she needs to be. Scariness is a requirement in life sometimes. Especially when it comes to protecting the people that you love.When Jenna finds out that Theo's been homeless? Oh, is she scary.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: I Will Stay, If You Dare [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998253
Comments: 17
Kudos: 48





	1. Broken windows shine like stars

What did it take to get Theo to stop living in his truck? Well, a shattered window, an "unpickable" lock, a truck in need of repair, and two _**terrified**_ teenage boys. 

Nobody expected it, and the silence that follows is heavy. It feels nearly illegal to even move. What just happened was ~~probably~~ definitely illegal, afterall. Liam has completely forgotten what their goal even was. _And Jenna?_ She’s grinning like she’s absolutely pleased with herself, and Theo can see the resemblance between her and her son as if they were identical. With this expression on her face? They pretty much are.

Liam looks at his mom, who’s still holding the army knife in her hand as if it's normal behaviour. Then he looks at Theo, who should be absolutely seething because of the damage to his truck. Theo is not seething. In fact, he’s very far from it. Theo is laughing so hard that it’s coming out silent, holding his stomach with his head thrown back. _Liam must be on Mars._

“You know what?” Theo is giggling so hard that they can barely even make out what he’s trying to say. Liam takes a step forward, reaching around the broken glass to put a hand on Theo’s shoulder. Liam and Jenna wait patiently as Theo forces himself to take deep breaths, the odd snort slipping out. “I know that the two of you probably had some big, sentimental speech planned, where you tell me that I deserve to be safe and warm, but you can save that for later. That was the ballsiest thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

Liam’s smiling now, hopeful that Theo’s response meant what he thought it meant. He looks over at Jenna to see that she’s grinning too. 

“So, you’ll accept our invitation?”

“I think that I have to after that whole show,” Theo grins, and it’s only small, but Liam knows it’s genuine. "However," dramatic pause "they don’t give insurance to seventeen-year-olds, and the window’s gonna cost-”

“$360 dollars.” Jenna seems proud of herself, Liam looks horrified.

“Mom!? How do you even know that?” Liam squeaks.

“My first boyfriend stole my Nintendo 64.” Jenna summarizes, “nobody comes between me and Zelda.”

Theo was laughing hysterically again, hunching over so his head is on the steering wheel. Liam’s just looking incredulously at his mother, seeing her in a whole new light. Jenna sends the two of them a fond look, noticing that Liam still has yet to move his hand from Theo’s shoulder.

“Come along now, boys. You two can follow me in the truck,” Jenna started walking towards her car. She gets in and starts it, rounding the parking lot to pull up next to Theo’s truck. Liam is still standing outside, but now he’s completely facing Theo, each hand gently holding one of Theo’s wrists. Jenna can hear Liam whispering, and from the dopey grin on his face she almost feels bad for ruining A Moment™. She honks her horn anyway. “Hurry up! You guys can play Orpheus and Eurydice in the truck, I have a Nintendo Switch calling my name.”

Liam turns 180, and Jenna is completely certain that it’s to hide the dangerous shade of red that his face went. His expression is completely scandalized, trying to glare but far too embarrassed. “Orpheus and Eurydice!? Are you serious?”

“Of course I am, Li. Are you saying that you wouldn’t save Theo from hell if you had to?” Liam is stammering, no comprehensible words coming out. 

"You heard the lady, Liam. Nobody comes between her and Zelda." Theo's voice sounds playful, but Liam's still standing between them, blocking her from seeing his face. A smirk is present, she's sure of it. Liam just continues trying to piece together his embarrassment.

Jenna sends Liam a wink and a teasing wave before driving off, the sound of Liam’s stammering just a distant memory. 

She doesn’t expect them to be right behind her. She gives Liam ten minutes before he'll even be able to face Theo, knowing just how bad of a blusher her son’s always been. She pulled out all the stops, but she’s pretty sure that her reference had been just obscure enough to go over Theo’s head. 

She has to pull over from laughing so hard when she considers that maybe Theo understood it, and Liam’s going to be a tomato for the entire ride home.


	2. Through the fields, somewhere there's blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna calls a Pack Parent town hall, and her scary side rears its head again. It's all worth it if it means that Theo will finally have some stability in his life.

“I’m sorry, Liam, but no, we’re **_not_** going to Disneyland, and we’re not going to the circus either,” Jenna laughs, Liam standing in front of her with the least convincing puppy-dog eyes ever. “On second thought, I think every minute with you is like spending time at the circus.”

“Mom!”

Jenna hears Theo giggle, and peaks around her son to look in his direction. “Oh, do you think this is funny? Liam might be a clown but that would make you the ringleader.”

Theo covers his face, curling in on himself in the armchair. His body is shaking with laughter, but his ears have tinged a shade of red that Jenna’s sure Liam would probably want to be seeing. Alas, her son just can’t leave her alone, so he’ll have to be deprived of how endearing his boyfriend is being behind his back.

“Liam.” Jenna says his name like it’s a warning.

“Mom.” Liam’s is more of a whine.

“Don’t make me government-name you,” Jenna threatened, narrowing her eyes to provoke Liam into calling her bluff.

“You wouldn’t.” Liam sounds sure, but there’s a new vulnerability on his face. “Mom, come on!”

“Liam Eugene Dunbar.” Jenna speaks in the strictest voice she could muster. Liam flinches, covering his face with his hands as a flush takes over.

Just as Liam groans, David passes the two of them, giving Liam a parting pat on the shoulder. “You knew that she would, kid.” Liam just groans again.

“Eugene?” Theo wheezes, laughing at Liam. 

Liam blushes all the way to his ears, and Jenna can’t serve Liam without humbling Theo, _that would be unfair_. “Really, Theo?” Theo nods, still laughing, and Jenna clears her throat dramatically. The same authoritative voice makes a return, “Theodore Karl Raeken.”

Theo stops laughing immediately, suddenly red in the face. He’s sputtering the same way that Liam was when Jenna had made her Orpheus comment. “How do you know my middle name?”

“I have my ways,” Jenna winks. She sticks out her index finger and pokes Liam in the forehead until he loses his balance and he’s forced to step back. Grabbing her jacket from the back of the couch, she makes her way to the door, “c’mon, let’s go. You guys will need to take the truck, and this time you’ll **_actually_** have to follow us, capisce? That means no making out in the driveway.” 

Liam laughed, finally turning around to look at Theo, who was turning a dangerous shade of red. He dares to move his hands from his face, looking at Jenna, “I swear that I just tripped and fell into him.”

“Mhm, sure, honey. I’ve never heard that one before. Just maybe wait until we’re out of sight to debauch my son next time.” With that, Jenna’s out the door, David jogging from the kitchen with the car keys in his hand, ready to go. 

Theo looks down at his hands, trying to put a cap on his embarrassment. 

“Oh yeah, you totally tripped and fell. That made total sense, Theo.” Liam tosses Theo his jacket, sitting on the stairs by the front door in order to tie his shoes.

“Shut up, dumbass. You come onto me all the time,” Theo groaned, following suit.

“At least I’m discreet!”

“Okay, if we don’t stop talking about this you’re gonna end up sitting in the bed of the truck on our way to wherever we’re going.”

“Hey, you can’t-” Liam’s interrupted by Theo stepping outside and shutting the door, rushing to follow. 

The two of them drove close behind Jenna’s car as they mapped out a familiar route. Liam is staring at Theo, as usual, taking in what he decided to wear to their unknown destination. 

“Are you wearing my sweater?” 

A flash of nervousness, a skip in Theo’s heartbeat, and finally, “uh, yeah. Is that okay?” 

“More than okay,” Liam responds a little too quickly. 

Theo laughs, his newfound nervousness evident, “Jenna told me to wear something comforting.”

“D-do you mean comfortable?”

“Nope.”

Liam gapes, his cheeks turning pink as he forces himself to hastily turn towards the window. 

Eventually, they’re parked in the lot of the sheriff’s station, Theo pulling up right next to Jenna’s Subaru. 

“What are we doing here?” Theo asks, walking towards Jenna. She looks hesitant, and it is only then that he notices other familiar cars in the parking lot. “Oh. Uh- Are you guys kicking me out of Beacon Hills?”

Jenna sends him a pitying look before stepping forward, enveloping him in a hug and pulling his head down so she can run her fingers through his hair. “We are absolutely not kicking you out, Sugar Plum. We would never, and if anybody ever tried they’d have to go through me first.”

Jenna pulls away, and Theo’s face is still vulnerable as he looks down, nodding softly. She rubs a soothing hand over his arm before turning to David, grabbing his hand and leading the way into the station. Theo stands still for a moment before Liam laces his fingers with Theo’s, leaning his head up to press a dainty kiss to the corner of Theo’s mouth.

“Let’s go, beautiful.”

Theo is unsurprised to see all of the Pack Parents in the sheriff’s office when they enter. Their cars were all outside, after all. Liam, it seems, had been less observant, and Theo felt Liam’s grip tighten in a gesture of overprotectiveness.

“Hello, thank you all for coming.” Jenna greets them, her cold tone a complete 180 from her maternal actions in the parking lot. David was suddenly standing a little straighter, standing just behind Jenna in the middle of the room.

The Parents: Noah, Melissa, Natalie, and Chris all gave various greetings. Theo hadn’t seen his car, or even smelled him when they entered, but Derek was also in the room, silent as ever. He felt Liam snake his arms around his waist, leaning into his side.

“I called you here today because we have a serious matter to discuss, and frankly, I’m disappointed in most of you.” Liam flinched from next to Theo, no doubt recognizing the tone from years of getting into trouble. 

Jenna turns around, and gently motions for David to stand next to her. When Liam and Theo are in her field of vision, she extends an open hand. “Theo, darling, come here please.”

Liam untangles himself from Theo, sending him a reassuring smile when he scents Theo’s nervousness. Out of the corner of his eye, Liam sees that Derek’s probably smelling it too. This might be the first time the older wolf had ever been able to read Theo’s chemosignals, and Liam furrows his brow at the prospect that Theo let them go by accident.

“Now that I have your attention, I’m going to introduce you guys to Theo.” Jenna sends a harsh shush in the direction of anyone who tries to protest. “Theo, is a teenage boy. He is legally a child. Theo, how old are you?”

Liam remembers reading something once that said that at every moment a person is the oldest that they’ve ever been and the youngest that they’ll ever be again. Theo, somehow the oldest that he’s ever been, is looking the smallest that Liam has ever seen him, and he doesn’t think that he ever wants to see it again. 

“Seventeen.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, can you say that a little louder?” Jenna is understanding, encouraging.

“I’m seventeen,” Theo says, only a minuscule louder.

“This is the last thing that I need from you, sweetie,” Jenna promises. “Theo, could you tell them how long you were living in your truck?”

The only one who looks shocked at the revelation is Melissa, who’s jaw has dropped as she holds Chris’ hand with an iron grip. 

“Nine months.” Melissa tries to stifle her gasp, but it resonates throughout the silent room nonetheless. 

“Thank you, baby,” Jenna hugs Theo, planting a kiss on his forehead. She scratches his scalp before pulling away, placing something in his hand, and closing his fist around it. She whispers something that most in the room can’t hear, but Derek hears her tell Theo that he was brave. “The fairgrounds opened yesterday, the two of you should go,” Jenna pats Theo’s closed fist, which Derek could only assume now held cash, “David and I might catch up with you later.”

Theo musters up a small smile and a nod, avoiding eye contact with everyone else in the room. Liam is quick to grab his hand and lead his boyfriend out, taking the truck’s keys from him. 

Jenna’s soft, maternal look turns into malice the second the two boys leave, her eyebrows furrowed as she looks around the room. “Did you hear that? We let a seventeen-year-old boy sleep in his truck for nine months. Nine months! In this hellhole of a dangerous town!”

Different expressions ring around the room. Melissa is still shocked, Argent seemingly stunned too, despite his steely resolve. Noah seems guilty, and Derek seems disappointed. Natalie is completely indifferent.

David takes a step back, allowing Jenna all the room she needs. He can see that she’s gonna blow, but he’s not worried. He’s seen Jenna like this only a handful of times since they first got together, and this was a better time than any to rage.

“You knew,” Jenna points at the sheriff, “and so did you,” she points at Natalie, “and I’m pretty sure that you did too,” Derek is the final victim.

The room is silent for a moment, tense as ever, before Noah finally speaks up.

“The situation was out of my hands,” He begins, even his voice doubtful of the words that are coming out. 

“Bullshit!” Jenna declares, sending a glare Noah’s way. “You’re the sheriff of the town, Noah. This situation was not supernatural.”

“I understand that, Jenna, but there was nothing I could do. Did you expect me to take him to my house? Do you know what Stiles would have done?” Noah responds incredulously.

“Noah, I’m going to kick your ass.” Jenna is scarily calm.

“You can’t threaten to kick my ass, I’m the sheriff.”

“Do you think sheriffs are exempt from ass-kicking? ‘Cause they’re not.”

David snickers and Jenna has to stop herself from doing the same at the absolute absurdity of the situation. She knows that wouldn’t help her case, though. 

“Noah, I broke that boy’s truck window to get him to move in the day that I found out he was homeless. You think that I wouldn’t have jumped at taking him in an instant? There’s plenty that you could have done. You could have told someone, you were not helpless, but that boy? That boy was. He’s a child and he had nothing and no one, and you let that happen.” Jenna’s face is red, but other than that her facade is still as calm as she can manage.

"You did _what_?" David asks quietly. 

"Couldn't pick the lock," Jenna whispers in response. She sees Derek snicker in the corner of her eye.

“She’s right, Noah,” Melissa has walked forward, letting go of Argent’s hand. "In fact, I’m kind of disgusted with this myself. How could you let that boy sleep in his car without telling any of us? Theo and I have had our differences, but I sure as hell wouldn’t have let that continue if you told me.”

Melissa sends Jenna a reassuring look, and Jenna visibly relaxes a little. 

“On top of that, Noah, you didn’t even have the decency to get your officers to leave the boy alone. He said he had slept through the night only a handful of times in the last nine months.” Jenna was getting less red, her hand in David’s, relieved that she’s not the only parent in the room that’s angry with the sheriff. 

“I’m sorry, I should have done better,” Noah responds, his guilt evident.

“Jenna’s not the one you have to apologize to, Noah.” Melissa scorned, "but you're right, you could have done better, and you should have."

“And you,” Jenna points to Natalie, “you didn’t say anything to anybody when a teenage boy reapplied to school with no address on his forms. You didn’t say a thing. As a human, I have to say that I’m sadly not surprised that you didn’t tell us. As a principal? That must have gone against multiple rules of the school board. It doesn’t matter that he’s supernatural, he’s still a kid by law.” 

Jenna knows that Natalie will remain indifferent. She never really was one to care for anybody’s kid but her own. It had always been ironic that she ended up a principal, she probably would have made a better accountant or something. Hell, she could probably do better at any job than her own.

Finally, Jenna looks to Derek, who seems wary, but also understanding. “Thank you for what you did for him. I understand why you couldn’t take him in, and he did tell me that you offered him a place multiple times, so thank you for showing him kindness, Derek.”

Theo had told Jenna and Liam a few stories about his time in his truck. It usually left him feeling pretty tired and vulnerable afterward, so neither of them had tried to push him into talking about it. Something that he had mentioned was finding bags of food in the bed of his truck, or finding $100 bills stuck in the handles of the truck’s doors. The bags and money never had a scent, and they would usually be there when he woke up in the morning, the person long-gone by then. Theo knew that it was Derek, but Derek was impossible to find to express his gratitude. 

“It’s no problem, Jenna. You’ve got one stubborn kid on your hands.” Derek laughed.

Jenna made a face that looked like a lightbulb went off in her brain. “Right, so now that I’ve chewed you all out, I can finally get to the point.” 

Jenna motioned for David to step up next to her, “David and I absolutely adore Theo. He’s an amazing kid, and I’m _not_ being sarcastic when I say that. However, it takes a village to raise a kid, and we think that Theo could use more people in his corner since he spent so long with those dread doctors. We plan to give him whatever he asks for, but we believe that it’s important for Theo to know that he has other people who care about him and want to show him what family is like.” 

David smiled at Jenna, satisfied with her introduction. “As Jenna said, Theo still has a lot of unlearning to do before he realizes that love doesn’t have to include pain or getting hurt.” He looked around at everyone in the room, making sure that they were all listening. “So, while Theo is seventeen, nearly a legal adult, we think that it’s important for him to be adopted so that he has parents who are legally his.”

“Why aren’t the two of you adopting him?” Noah asked, standing up from his office chair to lean against the wall.

Jenna laughed, looking to David before looking back at Noah. “Noah, Theo and Liam are dating. If we adopted him, that would make the two of them brothers by law.” Jenna laughed again as the recognition dawned on the sheriff. “We’ll still keep Theo at our house, if that’s what he wants of course, but we think he needs the stability of having real p-”

“We’ll do it.” 

All eyes turned to Melissa and Argent, who had stepped forward to stand next to Melissa. Melissa looked certain, and while his expression was dry, Argent didn’t seem too surprised. “You’re right, Jenna. We failed the kid, but it’s not too late to show him what family is.”

Fresh tears glistened in Jenna’s eyes, and she stepped forward, wrapping Melissa in a hug. She was pretty sure Melissa had started to cry too, but she doesn't have any crazy werewolf senses like Liam. “Thank you so much, Melissa. I promise that you won’t regret this decision. Theo's changed, and he's trying harder to be better every single day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to write it so that the sheriff didn't know that the deputies were knocking on Theo's window, but I wrote the "ass-kicking" part first and I wanted to leave it in.
> 
> I also finally got a Theo tumblr (@boyswillbepups)! I haven't been on fandom tumblr for anything but writing since Superwholock, so I am flying a little blind lol. Follow if you want!
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


	3. All we knew of home was just a sunset and some clowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Theo's date to the fair.

By the time Liam’s dragged Theo from the station, Theo’s face holds a look of terrifying neutrality. His hand is loose in Liam’s, no reciprocation of the tight grip that Liam has. Liam skips the front seat of the truck and drags Theo to the back, gently lifting him onto the tailgate despite the lowly unimpressed look on Theo’s face. 

“Hey,” Liam speaks softly, beaming at Theo in an attempt to get a smile in response. Theo just looks uneasy, shifting under Liam’s gaze and visibly fighting back a flinch when his boyfriend brings a soft hand up to cradle his face.

“Hey,” Theo responds, but his own voice betrays his act of normalcy. Liam can tell from the light wrinkle between Theo’s eyebrows and from the hardly concealed tremble in his hands that Theo is shaken from their moments in the station. 

Liam feels as if words might be redundant, so he simply reaches up and pulls Theo’s head down, so he can hold the back of his head and run his finger through his hair as he envelopes him in a hug. Liam stays like that, gripping Theo tightly in hopes that maybe he’s radiating enough love for Theo to understand it, to _feel_ it. It’s a minute into the hug when Theo is hugging back, even tighter than Liam, and the trembling is no longer being hidden, wracking his entire body. Liam tries to grip tighter, he almost wishes, for a moment, that he and Theo could share one existence, because maybe then he could begin to convey the true magnitude of everything that he feels for him. It’s nearly a sense of inadequacy, his inability to express the ineffable emotions, but he has faith in himself that Theo feels the same way, that Theo knows that Liam would move mountains and catch stars if he asked him to. 

Liam pulls away, still holding Theo by the elbows, standing as close as his position between Theo’s legs would allow him to. He has to tilt his head up ever so slightly to meet Theo’s eyes from his spot on the tailgate, and he leans up to softly kiss the tip of Theo’s nose and wipe the tears from his cheeks. 

Theo shakes his head, feeling obvious disdain at his own public display of his emotions. It’s okay, he knows, to show Liam how he’s feeling, but learning to open up is a process. He still feels silly and childish every time he sheds a tear or craves Liam’s comfort, but he’s trying to let himself be a person sometimes, _trying to allow himself consolation._

Liam smiles, this one a little tighter than before. “I’m not too sure what my mom’s up to, but I know for sure that it’s nothing bad. She adores you, and I’m like, ultra jealous that you replaced me as her favourite kid so quickly.”

Theo laughs softly, Liam wiping away the last of the tears. “What can I say? Moms love me.”

“Well then, I guess I have some moms to fight,” Liam tries to pull a scary face, pulling his hands away from Theo to make the gesture of fighting the air. Theo laughs louder this time, reaching up to close his hands around Liam’s fists.

“Don’t worry, Robin Hood. No mom can compete with you,” Theo grins, tilting his head to the side. The look in his eyes tells Liam that he does feel it, he feels the love, and hope, and desperation, and everything in between. He feels everything that Liam wants to convey. “Except maybe Stacy’s, now that I think of it.” 

“Stacy? Who’s Stacy?” Liam’s eyes go wide, his brow furrowed. 

Theo just chuckles, jumping off the tailgate and walking to the passenger door. Liam follows, still confused and asking about which Stacy it is that Theo’s talking about. When Theo starts to laugh so hard that he has to hold his chest, Liam just has to grin, his question long forgotten.

Once Theo’s sobered up, he arches his back to grab his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He reaches over to select the bluetooth option on the truck’s radio, and he hums a non-existent tune until he finds the playlist that he wants to listen to. 

Liam groans, taking his eyes off the road for a moment so he can look at Theo, who’s slumped in the passenger seat with one leg over the other. He looks small again, but not in the way he did earlier, not in a way that made him look like hope was a distant memory. This time he looked comfortable, and cute in a way that made Liam want to reach over and kiss the freckle on his cheek despite his own annoyance.

“Please tell me we’re not going to listen to 80s music the entire way to the carnival,” Liam pleaded, but the fondness on his face betrayed him once again. 

“Don’t be a baby. This is my car playlist, not my 80s playlist,” Theo responded, shaking his head.

Liam looked over once again, sticking out his tongue in an act of real maturity. 

“Do that again and maybe I’ll skip every Mitski song,” Theo replies, giggling when Liam groans again.

Liam might hate the constant stream of 80s music that it seems like Theo’s always listening to, but he does love the way that Theo lipsyncs the words to him. Theo’s managed to find a pair of Jenna’s sunglasses that she left in the truck, they’re pink and shaped like stars, and the inevitable Elton John song that Liam knows will play will do them justice. Theo’s using one of Liam’s lacrosse water bottles as a microphone, dramatically miming air guitar and fake audiences when necessary.

“When I said that I love you, I meant that I loved you forever!” Theo yells, accentuating every “you” with a finger pointed at Liam. When Theo gets close to Liam’s face, Liam renders his control temporarily useless. He can’t help but take his hands off the wheel to grab Theo’s face and give him a chaste kiss. He pulls away quickly to look back at the road, but he doesn’t miss the cute smile on Theo’s lips. 

In Theo’s defense, if Liam had been in the passenger seat during _Me And My Husband_ he would have been just as dramatic. Instead, he settles for wearing Jenna’s glasses and practically screaming the words, and when he turns to Theo and sings _”When he walks in, I am loved, I am loved_ , he gets to appreciate the shade of pink that Theo’s cheeks turn.

It only takes them the length of _Careless Whisper_ and _Strawberry Blond_ until they’re at the fairgrounds, and Liam is practically buzzing with excitement. Theo has always been a fan of nonchalance, but Liam can tell that he’s excited too. He zips around to Theo’s door and barely gives him enough time to take off his seatbelt before he’s running to the entrance, dragging Theo by the sleeve of his sweater.

Liam buys the game and ride tickets with the money his mom gave them, his excitement so consuming that he barely even acknowledges Theo’s joke about getting a child entry ticket for Liam. 

“What do you wanna do first?” Liam asks, his eyes glazed over as he grabs Theo’s waist and looks around. 

“I don’t know,” Theo responds. He sounds calm, but Liam can see by the look on his face that he’s kind of in awe. “I don’t even remember the last time I went to a fair. I think I was six, maybe. My parents stopped taking us after I got diagnosed with asthma.”

Liam gives his brightest grin, “we’ve got some time to make up for, then.”

The two of them go to the tilt-a-whirl first, Theo seems a little wary so Liam acts like he’s scared. He knows that Theo loves to play brave for him. The uneasiness that Theo had before is gone the second that the ride starts, and he asks Liam if they can ride it again right after. Liam agrees, of course, because how can he say no to Theo if it means that he won’t get to see that huge smile on his face while they spin in circles on the ride?

After that they make their way to the huge slides, climbing up 5 sets of stairs just to get to the top. 

“Do you want to go down on one sled, or separately?” Liam asks once they’re at the front of the line, his hands wrapped around Theo’s waist and his chin resting on Theo’s shoulder. 

“Hmm, is there a difference?” Theo asks. His lips graze Liam’s cheek when he turns his head, and Liam can’t help but want more, but there’s a group of seven children behind them, and Liam doesn't want to be responsible for permanently scarring any of them. 

“Well, if you go alone then you go faster, but if we go together then we get to cuddle on a sled,” Liam laughs, pulling away in anticipation for their turn on the slide.

Theo makes a show as seeming torn, before he spares a glance behind them, a crease between his brows, “Well, I guess I can take one for the team. I mean, I should give the kids at least a little chance to win the race, right?”

Liam gasps, softly hitting Theo’s arm with his open hand. “Wow, you’re a real hero, huh?”

Theo laughs in response before following the ride operator’s directions, sitting on the sled furthest from the gate and holding Liam tight when he comes down to sit between Theo’s legs. The sled does end up going slow, and Liam and Theo do come last, but Theo does manage to catch a **_very_** risky selfie of the two of them while they’re on their way down.

They ride the fair’s only roller coaster, which happens to be a small, circular children’s coaster with carts shaped like caterpillars. Then, and only then, does Liam deem it okay for them to get some fair food. 

“Really? You thought that roller coaster would make you throw up?” Theo laughs.

Liam’s cheeks flush red, and he has a scandalized expression, “shut up, stomachs are like, unpredictable. I can’t control my puke.” Theo laughs harder, intertwining his fingers with Liam’s. 

The two of them get a funnel cake to share, though they have to get most of the topping on the side since the two of them couldn’t come to a decision between strawberries or caramel sauce. 

“What are you looking at?” Liam asks. Theo had been staring for a while, and it’s hard to pretend to be annoyed when his boyfriend won’t get that look off his face.

“Are we playing I-Spy?” Theo grins. He picks up some funnel cake with his fork and dips it in the caramel sauce despite his aversion to it, bringing the fork up to Liam’s mouth. Liam opens for it, grinning around the fork. “I’m looking at someone beautiful.”

Liam looks down, a fierce blush flaming his cheeks. “Stop being a sap, dummy.”

“How can I do that when someone like you is mine?”

Liam flings a (thankfully, dry) piece of funnel cake at his boyfriend’s head.

Their snack ends up in various pieces on the floor thanks to a little food fighting (or “batter battling” as Liam called it), and they toss the garbage before looking for their next objective. 

Liam sees when Theo’s eyes light up, and he follows the older boy’s line of sight until he catches sight of a giant bear, one that seems almost as tall as Liam himself. Before Theo can even realize that Liam noticed he had been looking away, the two of them are running towards the game booth. 

Liam slams down $10, sitting down on a stool and motioning for Theo to sit on the one next to his. The two of them have to wait until more players join, but they are eventually joined by another couple, who seem to be a little older than Liam and Theo.

Theo can practically smell the competitiveness wafting off of Liam when the game starts. He keeps glancing over at the other couple’s completion bars while he tries to keep his water gun aimed directly at the middle of the target. Theo doesn’t bother to be as accurate, and he smiles in earnest when Liam wins the prize.

Liam is grinning ear-to-ear when the worker hands him the same bear that Theo had been eyeing. “For you,” Liam announces, holding the bear out for Theo. Theo leans down and gives him a kiss, graciously accepting the huge bear from Liam.

“Thank you, bub.”

Liam beams back and grabs Theo’s hand again so they can find something else to do.

They end up at the Ferris wheel, and Liam looks to Theo, reaching out for the bear to put it in one of the cubbies before the ride’s line. 

One of the first movies that the two of them had watched together had been _Love, Simon_ , and it had unexpectedly become a favourite of Theo’s. Liam figured that it must have something to do with acceptance. Liam himself remembered crying his eyes out the first time that he heard Jennifer Garner say that Simon could exhale. It inspired him to come out as bisexual to his parents so that he could feel the same. Maybe Theo didn’t have to worry about being accepted for being gay, but he had spent so, so long worrying about being accepted for everything else. _Love, Simon_ ended up being their comfort movie, and they usually watch it together after hard missions, or on those nights when Theo’s nightmares wouldn’t allow him to return to the land of the sleeping.

It’s not until they’re at the top of the ride that Theo makes mention of it, “this is just like _Love, Simon_.”

Liam laughs softly, bringing one hand up to cradle the side of Theo’s face. “Maybe. But this time it’s not a guy that you’re waiting for.” He leans in for a kiss, and it’s soft and tender, slow and promising. 

“No, I waited long enough for him, now I can’t ever let him go.”

Liam leans closer, whispering in Theo’s ear, “you better not.”

They stay like that, holding each other close as the Ferris wheel continues to go round and round until Liam finally pulls away. His arm is outstretched, and he’s pointing down at the ground at something that becomes smaller as they climb higher. Theo pivots to look in the direction that Liam’s indicating. “I think you might’ve gotten something else you were waiting for, too.”

Theo looks over the bar of the carriage and sees Jenna and David at the bottom of the ride. David is waving, while Jenn enthusiastically jumps up and down, blowing air kisses and yelling up her greetings, knowing that they’ll be able to hear her. 

The smile that spreads on Theo’s face is blinding and contagious, and he looks from them to Liam, who’s smiling just as wide.

 _Yeah._ Theo did get what he’d been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcanon Liam as having the _most_ bisexual music taste for some reason. He's a mitski stan and no one can convince me otherwise.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic's title comes from All Shades of Blue by Gregory Alan Isakov!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Traditions](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28426668) by [parttimehuman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/parttimehuman/pseuds/parttimehuman)




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